Shoelace clamp



3,355,512 Patented Nov. 27, 1962 3,065,512 SHGELACE CLAlVlP Walter S. Pagoda, 1351 Green St., Manville, NJ.

Filed Sept. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 136,232

7 Claims. (Cl. 24117) This invention relates to a novel device of simple construction adapted to be mounted on looped end portions of a shoelace of an Oxford-type shoe for cooperation with a shoelace for tightening the instep portion of the shoe and for clamping the looped portions of the shoelace so that the instep portion of the shoe will be held tightened to a desired extent.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoelace clamp which will facilitate the applying and removing of an Oxford-type shoe, which will minimize wear on the shoelace, and which will eliminate the necessity of tying and untying the shoelace as well as the inconvenience which frequently results when a tied shoelace becomes knotted. Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of the instep of an Oxford-type shoe and showing a shoelace clamp applied to a shoelace thereof;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the shoelace clamp taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but showing certain of the parts in a difierent position;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view of the shoelace clamp, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 66 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 7-7 of FIGURE 2 and showing the tightener displaced downwardly to eifect tightening of the instep portion of the shoe.

Referring more specifically to the drawing,,the shoelace clamp in its entirety and comprising the invention is designated generally 10 and includes an elongated substantially flat casing 11 which includes a top wall 12, a bottom wall 13 and side Walls 14. The casing 11 is preferably formed of an inverted channel shaped top section 15 and a channel shaped bottom section 16 which telescopes into the section 15 and which has inturned bottom flanges 17. The flanges 17 fit under side edge portions of the bottom 13 and are anchored thereto by crimping or peening, as indicated at 18. The top wall 12 has a pair of transversely spaced openings 19'adjacent each end thereof. The bottom wall 13 is provided with pairs of openings 20 which align with the openings 19.

A clamping bar 21 is slidably mounted Within the casing 11 and has a relatively close fitting engagement between the side Walls 14 but is of a thickness to provide substantial clearance between its opposite sides and the top wall 12 and bottom wall 13. The bar 21 has pairs of openings 22 adjacent its ends which align with the aligned openings 19 and 20' in one position of the clamping bar 21, as seen in FIGURES 4 and 7.

The bar 21 is provided with a recess or cutout portion 23 disposed between its pairs of openings 22 and which includes a leg 24 which extends crosswise of the bar and a leg 25 which extends lengthwise thereof. A transversely extending wall 26 of the recess 23 defines an outer side of the transverse leg 24. The recess 23 has an inwardly bowed arcuate wall 27 extending between the outer ends of the legs 24 and 25 and which is disposed opposite to a right angular corner 28 formed at the apex of the legs 24 and 25.

A part of a shaft 29 extends through and is journaled in an opening 30 of the top wall 12. The opening 30 is disposed between and spaced from the pairs of openings 19. When the bar 21 is in a released position, as seen in FIGURE 4, with its openings 22 in alignment with the openings 19 and 20, the shaft 29 is disposed to extend through the corner 28 of the recess 23 and is provided with a laterally extending crank 31 which extends therefrom into the transverse leg 24. A handle 32 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 29 and is disposed above the top wall 12.

In order to illustrate a preferred application and use of the shoelace clamp 10, an instep portion 33 of an Oxford-type shoe is illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, including the conventional slit or opening 34 which extends longitudinally along the top of the instep portion and which has eyelets 35 on both sides thereof which are engaged by a shoelace 36. Five eyelets 35 are shown on each side of the slit 34, and the shoelace 36 is laced in a conventional manner through the three lower eyelets on each side, and the two end portions of the shoelace 36 extend upwardly from the third or middle eyelets 35 on the two sides of the slit 34, through aligned openings 20, 22, 19 of one end of the clamp 10 and which openings are disposed above and between said middle eyelets. The two end' portions of the shoelace 36 are then turned back and extend downwardly through the aligned openings 19, 22 and 20 of the other end of the clamp 10 and are knotted or otherwise anchored, as seen at 37, to the uppermost eyelets 35.

The clamp 13 may be slid upwardly on the two loop portions 36 of the shoelace 35 when the openings 22 are in alignment with the openings 19 and 20, so that the slit portion 34 can be spread for applying or removing the shoe. After the shoe has been applied, the loop portions 36 can be engaged with the finger of one hand while the other hand is utilized for pressing the clamp 10 downwardly against the slit portion 34. By exerting an upward pull on the loop portions 36 and a downward pressure on the clamp It}, the slit portion 34 will be drawn together to tighten the instep portion 33 to a desired extent, due to the fact that the spacing between the transverse openings 20 is less than the normal spacing between the complementary eyelets 35 located on opposite sides of the slit 34.

When the instep 33 has thus been tightened to a desired extent, the handle 32 is manipulated to turn the shaft 29 counterclockwise, as viewed from above. This will cause the crank 31 to turn counterclockwise, as seen in FIGURE 3, from its full line to its dotted line position. In so moving, the rounded corner 31' of the crank 31 Will initially engage the wall 26 to move the clamping bar 21 from right to left. When the shaft 29 and crank 31 have completed a quarter revolution, the clamping bar 21 will have been moved from its full line to its dotted line posi tion along with the recess 23 and openings 22, as seen in FIGURE 3. In the last mentioned clamping position of the bar 21, the openings 22 are disposed out of alignment with the openings 19 and 29, as seen in FIGURE 5, so that parts of the loops 36' are clamped between the bar 21 and the top wall 12 and between said bar 21 and the bottom wall 13 to prevent slippage of the loops 36' relative to the clamp 10.

The clamp 10 will thus be held eifectively clamped to the loop portions 36 by engagement of the outer end of the crank 31 against the wall 26, as seen in FIGURE 5, and in which position the shaft is disposed in the longitudinal leg 25 and spaced from the corner 28. To release the clamp 10, the handle 32 must be manually actuated to forcibly turn the shaft 29 in the opposite direction or clockwise, as viewed from above, through a 90 are. In so moving, the crank 31 will swing back into engagement with the transverse leg 24 against the arcuate surface 27, which functions as a cam with the crank 31, for forcibly moving the clamping bar 21 from left to right from its position of FIGURE 5 back to its released position of FIGURE 4.

With the clamp it is thus released, it may be slid upwardly on the loop portions 3d so that the slit portion 34 can be spread to expand the instep portion 33 to permit removal of the shoe from the foot.

If desired, the loop portions 36 may extend between the second and fourth eyelets rather than the third and fifth eyelets, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, and the ends of the shoelace may be crossed between the fourth and fifth eyelets and anchored to the fifth eyelets.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shoelace clamp comprising an elongated housing having a top wall provided with transversely spaced aligned Openings adjacent each end thereof, a clamping bar mounted for sliding movement longitudinally in said housing and having openings aligning with said top wall openings in one position of the clamping bar, said aligned openings, being adapted to accommodate looped portions of a shoelace, said clamping bar having an angular recessed portion disposed between and spaced from the openings thereof including a first leg disposed crosswise of the bar and a second leg disposed longitudinally of the bar, said recessed portion having an inwardly bowed arcuate wall disposed diagonally opposite to the apex of the legs, said first leg having an outer wall spaced from said arcuate Wall and disposed crosswise of the bar, a shaft extending through and journaled in said top Wall and having a part extending into said recessed portion, and a crank extending laterally from the shaft and disposed in said recessed portion between said outer wall and arcuate wall when the bar openings are in alignment with the top wall openings, said shaft being rotatable in one direction for swinging the crank against said outer wall for displacing the bar longitudinally of the housing to move the bar openings out of alignment with the top wall openings for clamping portions of the shoelace between the top wall and bar, and said shaft being rotatable in the opposite direction to engage said arcuate wall for moving the bar in the op posite direction in the housing to return the bar to its initial position with the openings thereof in alignment with the top Wall openings.

2. A shoelace clamp as in claim 1, said shaft engaging said outer wall when the top wall openings and bar openings are in alignment to prevent moving the bar in said last mentioned direction beyond a position in which the bar openings align with the top wall openings.

3. A shoelace clamp as in claim 1, said crank having an end surface disposed to abut said outer wall when the bar is moved in the first mentioned direction by rotation of the shaft for retaining the bar openings out of alignment with the top wall openings until the shaft is rotated in the last mentioned direction.

4., A. shoelace clamp as in claim 1, and a handle secured. to the shaft and disposed above the top wall and,

adapted to be manually manipulated for turning the shaft.

5. A shoelace clamp comprising an elongated housing having a top wall provided with transversely spaced aligned openings adjacent each end thereof, a clamping bar mounted for sliding movement longitudinally in the housing and having openings aligning with said top wall openings in one position of the clamping bar, said aligned openings being adapted to accommodate looped portions of a shoelace, a shaft extending through and journaled in said top wall, a crank fixed to and projecting laterally from said shaft and disposed within the housing, said bar having a transverse wall engaged by said shaft and an arcuate wall, said crank being disposed between the transverse wall and arcuate wall when the shaft is engaging said transverse wall, and means disposed externally of the housing and connected to said shaft for rotating the shaft in one direction for swinging the crank against said transverse wall to move the bar longitudinally of the housing to displace the openings thereof out of alignment with the top wall openings for clamping parts of the shoelace between the top wall and bar, said means being operable for turning the shaft in the opposite direction only when the bar is in said last mentioned position for swinging the crank away from said transverse wall and into engagement with. the arcuate wall for displacing the bar back to its initial position.

6. A shoelace clamp as in claim 5, said housing including a bottom wall disposed beneath said bar and having openings aligning with the top wall openings and through which the shoelace portions are adapted to extend.

7. A shoelace clamp as in claim 5, said crank being disposed perpendicular to said transverse wall when the bar openings are disposed out of alignment with the top wall openings for retaining the bar against movement in the opposite direction in the housnig until the shaft is manually manipulated by said means for swinging the crank away from said transverse wall toward said arcuate wall.

Hirsch Apr. 1, 1941 Pagoda July 7, 1959 

